Jean Gatz

Inspiring Organizations and Their People to STAND OUT from the Crowd.

Turn Your Liabilities Into Abilities

By Motivational Keynote Speaker Jean Gatz

Now we come to the hardest part of implementing my Success Equation in your work and life. It’s time to commit to a plan for self-improvement to overcome any limitations standing in the way of achieving the results you want. Without a doubt, it takes a lot more confidence to identify and “claim” your limitations than it does to focus only on your strengths.

Can you relate to this statement? “I feel ‘good’ when I’m using my strengths and ‘bad’ when I think about my limitations.” Here’s my advice. Stop feeling “bad” because you aren’t perfect. Who is? So you have a few flaws, some skills that aren’t up to par, and a couple of personality traits that drive people crazy. Who doesn’t? The good news is that your limitations do not have to define you. They are simply your personal set of unique challenges, and you can choose to do something about them.

As you can see by now, all three parts of the Success Equation don’t require the same amount of effort. Utilizing your strengths is fairly easy. Learning new skills is challenging, but you’ve done it before so you know you can do it again. Overcoming limitations, however, is hard work! It starts with taking an honest look at what’s really going on inside you, and admitting exactly what’s keeping you from your goal to STAND OUT in a positive way.

Part three is also the most revealing and satisfying part of the Success Equation. So don’t give in to the temptation to avoid, ignore, or make excuses for NOT learning everything you can to be a better person, friend, spouse, partner, parent, colleague, co-worker, leader or follower.

If you think that focusing only on your strengths is enough, ask yourself:

Will others always be willing to overlook your flaws and focus only on your strengths?

In a perfect world, the answer to both questions would be “yes.” But we don’t live and work in a perfect world. In the real world your strengths won’t get you through every situation. And instead of ignoring all your flaws, the people who count on you will expect you to be willing to improve in certain areas. So you must decide how to turn your limitations – your liabilities – into abilities.

First, decide which limitations are truly obstacles to your success. Then work on what’s really important and don’t feel guilty about the rest. Work on being better, not perfect. All of us can get better. None of us will ever be perfect! Got questions or comments? I’d love to hear from you! jean@jeangatz.com.